Planned Sheetz station would drive Cuyahoga Falls BMV test center away from current site

The Ohio BMV Testing Center in Cuyahoga Falls would be uprooted from its current home sometime after a proposal to build a Sheetz gas station at the Graham Road site after receives expected signatures from Summit County officials.

The plan cleared the city's Board of Zoning Appeals on Wednesday, with the stipulation that measures are taken to screen the gas station from abutting residences. Building permits from Summit County are still needed before the project can move forward, but all official approvals from the city are complete.

Many residents near the area are not happy about their new prospective business neighbor, and several spoke at Wednesday's meeting and spoke out against the Sheetz plan. About 20 residents attended, raising concerns about noise and light pollution, increased traffic, reduced property values and possible crime from an establishment that would be open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Many of the complaints echo concerns that led Boston Heights to block construction of a Sheetz; some Bath residents also are seeking to block the chain from building a location in Montrose.

While the busy Bureau of Motor Vehicles office also has been a concern to neighbors, they're more upset about the prospect of putting a Sheetz there instead .

"The BMV is already a nuisance, with doors slamming and voices shouting," said Chris Steiner, who said he lives right next to the plot. "But at least they close in the evening. Now you will have doors slamming 24 hours a day."

Residents say they should have been notified sooner about plan

Steiner and other residents also complained about the lack of notice they received about the project. Steiner said he wasn't aware of it until he received a letter from the city on Sept. 22.

The Cuyahoga Falls BMV is one of only two offices in Summit County (the other is in Barberton) where new drivers are tested for their temporary permits and licenses.

Bob Teodosio, the deputy director of the Cuyahoga Falls BMV, said the office would relocate if the Sheetz proposal receives final approval — a new place had not been found yet.

""We are looking for possibilities," Teodosio said. "We'd love to stay in the same area."

He said the office has about 30 employees and also handles driver's exams for residents of Portage County, which does not have a driver's testing center.

Bret Crow, communications director with the Ohio BMV, confirmed that the bureau was searching for a new home for the Cuyahoga Falls testing site.

The building at 650 Graham Road, which would be razed to make way for the Sheetz station, also is home to the nonprofit Caring for Kids and a certified public accountant's office.

Jill Davies, executive director for Caring For Kids, said another tenant, an eye doctor, had recently moved. Her organization had planned to expand into two vacant spaces in the building.

She said Caring for Kids' long-term plan of eventually moving into its own building may need to be expedited.

"We just recently found out" about the Sheetz plan, Davies said. "We are in a holding pattern right now."

Neighbors say buffer for planned Sheetz won't cut nuisances

The proposed Sheetz would include five fueling islands with 10 pumps.

It also would have a 6,139-square-foot convenience store with patron seating inside and outside, and a drive-thru with a touchscreen.

The roughly 2.5-acre parcel is zoned for C-1, which permits gas stations. However, Sheetz administrators wanted five fueling islands instead of the limit of four under the city's code, and larger canopies than city code allow — seeking 4,000 feet instead of the usually permitted 2,000 feet. These were granted, but the BZA stipulated that heavy screening, which would include mounds, trees and an 8-foot fence, must be installed. The planners for the Sheetz had sought to waive fence requirements because of existing trees at adjacent properties.

Diane Calta, an attorney with Mansour Gavin in Cleveland and a legal representative for Sheetz, said the gas station chain, which is headquartered in Altoona, Pennsylvania and has 700 stores in Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Ohio and North Carolina, looks to build on larger plots for safety reasons and to allow space for screening.

Rufus Jessup-Savage, a resident who lives near the BMV office, said he didn't think the Sheetz screening would be adequate against the possible light and noise.

"Even with a 6-foot fence, we can still see the BMV," he said.

William Foltz, who rents out a home near the land, said he is worried that his property value could take a hit.

Ryan Balko, the regional engineering and permit project manager for Sheetz, said the company hoped to close the sale for the property by late spring or early summer 2024. Construction, including demolition of the current building, would take around six months, with the goal of opening by late 2024.

Reporter April Helms can be reached at ahelms@thebeaconjournal.com

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Cuyahoga Falls BMV test site could be displaced by new Sheetz station